Vegan This: The Girl Scout Tagalong Cookie

I was recently in the midst of a true food challenge. I’m talking about the kind that covers kitchens in batter. If I were going to share the inner perils and pleasures of veganizing and gluten-freeing a cookie, I thought, why not start with the ultimate? The snack that touts the highest of all cookie claims: “To help girls do great things” – from, you guessed it, the Girl Scouts.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2008, more than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. And, this number is only increasing. Just read a Girl Scout Cookie’s nutrition facts, and the irony is, it’s chock full of heart-clogging ingredients, like partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, a trans fat. The kind that lead to less healthy children who are at early onset risk of chronic diseases like diabetes.

While the Girl Scouts have touted their cookies as being trans fat free – something they can get away with if a single serving has less than .5 grams of this artery stifling substance – the Chicago Tribune revealed that Girl Scout Tagalongs, Samoas and Thin Mints still contain trans fats. In the case of Tagalongs, eat one sleeve (five cookies) and you’ll most likely be taking in more than one gram of trans fat – a number directly linked to increased levels of harmful cholesterol (LDL) and a rise in risk for heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes. The even greater irony is that the Girl Scouts themselves have published a research review on childhood obesity titled “Weighing in: Helping Girls be Healthy Today, Healthy Tomorrow”.

The idea to transform this classic cookie into a vegan and gluten-free delight, but also to make it healthier was a task I was willing to accept.

To make this occasion less daunting, I started with an already vegan version of the Girl Scout Tagalongs, compliments of vegan bloggers and inspirers Annie and Dan Shannon and VegNews.

It’s already a whole lot healthier than the Girl Scout’s original. But never shying from a goal, I vowed to make these gluten, peanut and soy-free cookies packed with other heart healthy ingredients.

On par with it’s peanut counterpart, almond butter is known as a high source of protein, particularly for vegetarians, and as a good way to get healthy, unsaturated fats. In fact, almond butter has half the saturated fat content of peanut butter, with just one gram per ounce. It also also packs extra doses of vitamin E, a free radical fighter that keeps our cells youthful and healthy, while being rich in fiber.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a stand mixer or a medium bowl with an electric handheld mixer, cream the vegan butter and sugar. Add the flour, flaxseed, vanilla, salt, applesauce, and almond milk, and blend until dough is smooth.

2. In a cookie press without a form or simply with your hands, roll the dough into a uniform tube. Slice into 1/4-inch wafers. On a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil, bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove and place on a wire cooling rack.

3. In a large bowl, mix the powdered sugar, almond butter, and salt. With your hands, use roughly 1 tablespoon of mixture to form small balls and gently press on top of each cookie. (You may need to add almond milk to the mix if it’s too dry. If so, slowly add teaspoon by teaspoon until the mixture is moist but firm enough to form into small balls.)

4. In a double broiler, melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate is fully melted, drop cookies into the chocolate-filled dish one at a time, using a spoon to pour chocolate over the top and coat evenly.

5. Place the chocolate-coated cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. When all are coated, chill cookies in refrigerator for 2 hours or until the chocolate is fully hardened around the cookie. Enjoy!

When I shared these with my boyfriend, the first words out of his cookie-crumbled mouth were “These are beautiful!”

A friend declared them as light and buttery, and another friend called them “decadently rich.” All three exclamations were from the discerning taste buds of non-vegan and full-on wheat eaters. And because this treat is nutritionally denser than their original counterparts, you needn’t eat a whole stack of cookies to feel satisfied. Eat one, and you just may feel full. Eat two, and you’ll still be able to button your pants.

We’ll call these tasty, and, in Tagalong terms, a nutritional success. Hopefully, so will you.

Post navigation

Take A Peek

A vegan eats a baby’s placenta? I gave birth. No, really. A semi-gigantic future sumo wrestler was born out of the most delicate part of my body. After she appeared, an organ almost as big as her pushed its way through me as well. I have witnesses. Miraculously, I did […]

The other day, I pulled my bicycle up to one of those nouvelle food trucks that are all the rage in these parts and ordered myself a delicious, healthy, organic falafel. While a group of us was standing on the sidewalk devouring our lunches, impromptu conversations among strangers just naturally […]

I love to watch babies, enchanted and giggling, as they gaze at mobiles moving gently above their cribs with every breeze and breath. So I was happy to discover an artist who makes stunning, airy mobiles for grown-up rooms, each a tribute to nature’s most graceful branches, leaves and flowers. […]

Here are some of our favorite quotes to inspire living intentionally and with peace. What’s your favorite? 1. You cannot control the results, only your actions. -Allan Lokos 2. The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness […]

These Animal Farm tumblers are made from recycled wine bottles and we, well are lusting. The pig said “oink.” The sheep went “baaaa.” The cow sighed “moo” and these tumblers make us go, “ah.” Both whimsical and irresistible, no two cows are ever the same. That’s because they’re hand-sketched on […]

Looking to connect and shape your community? Wondering how to create new social systems? Searching for like-minded, environmentally concerned citizens? Look no further. I’ve found the place you’re looking for: The Hub. The Hub is an international organization with a new platform for innovation and exchange. They aim to combine social […]

More in Food

What' s Intresting

The easiest summer addiction. For coffee lovers,cold brew is summer’snectar. You can of course buy cold brew systems,or end up with an expensive coffee shop addiction,but really all you need for delicious cold brew is a good coffee roast and a French press. The key is letting […]

When it comes to the Paleo diet,let’sagree to leave the cavemen out of it. Desperate for a sustainable solution to my weight and health frustrations,I tried the Paleo diet for the firs time last fall. After 30 days,I had lost 10 pounds,my skin cleared up,[…]

Furoshiki Wrap Wine Bottles. The perfect hostess gift tutorial from Megumi Inouye on CreativeBug. When it comes to choosing a gift that keeps on giving –it’sall in the presentation. Spend less than five minutes learning Furoshiki,a traditional Japanese cloth technique used to wrap as well as transport items. In […]

High-end dining just got a lot higher. Just when you think going out to eat is losing its magic,these 10 oddly themed restaurants push the envelope and really get you your money’sworth. For some of them,food is secondary to the ambiance,or not even part of the […]

Love food? Love learning about it? Love talking about it? Then maybe you’vebeen thinking about how to launch a podcast about food. We learn how from Emily Dilling of Paris Paysanne. While we live in an age where content is churned out faster than you can blend together a kale […]

Good luck distinguishing these Frankenfoods from real,natural food as they flood our supermarkets. Genetically altered to withstand heavy applications of toxic chemicals,resist disease or contain more nutrients,so-called “Frankenfoods”areappearing on supermarket shelves at a rapid rate. Currently,genetically modified (GM) corn and soy can be found […]

The more I read about seafood, from overfishing to mercury contamination, the less comfortable I feel about eating it. This is sad because seafood used to be my protein of choice. Lately, I’ve been leaning toward nut butter and eggs and have made fish a special occasion food. I’m choosing […]

A selection of sparkling, white and rosé wine to keep your summer well hydrated. Summer is the time the wine glasses come out in abundance. Warm weather encourages relaxing, and what better way to relax than with a glass of wine – rosé wine perhaps? – in your hand? Yes, […]

When Nutella, donuts and muffins meet, it’s easy to feed your cravings and forget it’s even vegan. To many a vegan (and gluten-free) foodie, donuts are the taunting tease of deprivation. Don’t get me wrong. Most vegans I know stand firmly on the fact that they live a deeply […]

Just because it’s from Trader Joe’s doesn’t mean it’s not junk food. There’s no denying that Trader Joe’s has a cult following. It has made food shopping fun. And not only has it made it fun, it makes people feel good about what they’re buying–proud of the fact that they […]

After taking a look last week at how many people see foodies as elitists, I figured it was time to take it down a notch, highlight the fact that the underground foodie movement is often less about culinary complexities and more about keeping things simple. Growing your own food, buying […]

Rethinking breakfast, one egg at a time. Pizza for breakfast. We’ve all been there, but this time it doesn’t involve you shamelessly munching on the cold leftovers from last night’s dinner. Instead, it’s a fried egg, cheese and tomatoes served over a whole-grain toasted bagel. The whole-grain bagel provides you […]

The ice cream diet. It’s a thing…and yes, the creator of the fad says its how to lose weight fast. By eating ice cream. When the good news came out (and continues to come out) that chocolate actually has some pretty significant health benefits, there was a lot of nodding […]

More people than ever are making the switch to a vegan diet. Some are just adding a few more meatless meals each week. Whether you’re going all the way or not, there are some vegan kitchen staples that will make your meatless meals magnificent. Beyond the fresh fruits and vegetables […]

There’s much ado about heirloom crops, which promote genetic diversity. Acclaimed chef and author Hugh Acheson wants you to eat them- and rice grits, in particular- because they’re about more than just mere sustenance. To be honest, before last June, the only thing I knew about Hugh Acheson, chef/partner of […]

The summer may be a time to shine, but the season also poses a threat to the vitality of your skin, hair, and body. Sun and heat exposure can make your skin flaky and pigmented, your hair dry, and your body sluggish. The following 5 summer tips to keep your […]

Cake for breakfast? Of course. It’s a shame that so many cake recipes call for eggs, cream, and loads of sugar, when the same texture – fluffy, moist, flaky, and rich – can be matched sans the heavy ingredients and dangerous boost in blood sugar levels. Sure, there’s room for […]

ColumnIdeas for one of the best superfoods of summer. You may have heard that colorful fruits and vegetables are the most nutritious. It’s true. It’s because of the phytochemicals, or micronutrients, these foods contain. Phytochemicals include the famous disease-fighting compounds we hear about like antioxidants, flavenoids, and carotenoids, and are […]

Posts navigation

What's New

There are some pretty incredible environmental benefits of farming that everyone should know about. There is so much criticism towards farmers for polluting the air, the type of crops they are growing, and for raising their crops a certain way, that the positive things farmers do go unrecognized. Farmers are […]

I have been in a few situations where I haven’t had a wine bottle opener, but I really needed to open a bottle of wine. (And I really wish this video would have existed back then.) Refinery29 made a video that shows three ways you can open a wine bottle […]

In the face of colony collapse disorder, can urban beekeeping projects help us save bees, and our food system? Did you know that 70 out of the top 100 food crops that humans consume — which are responsible for supplying about 90 percent of the world’s nutrition — are pollinated by bees? […]

Tofu is fuss-free and makes it easy for you to get in a vegan meat alternative for protein this summer. But not sure how to barbecue tofu? All you need are these 7 tips and you are minutes away from a juicy tofu “steak” with that yummy grill taste. Whether you’ve […]

EcoSalon’s Made In America Box features items that are made right here in the U.S.A! July is an all-around patriotic month here in the states, so join your fellow eco-friendly patriots with a box of products worth $494.85, for just $129 + free shipping! You see it everywhere: The […]

Posts navigation

Hot Right Now

Signs you might be taking the whole single life thing a little too far. The single life is awesome—the freedom, the endless amounts of “me time,” the fact that wearing pants is no longer mandatory—but there comes a time in every single woman’s life where she starts picking up “single […]

As a kid, I watched a lot of those PBS National Geographic type shows that visited Indigenous cultures around the world. And I always got knots in my stomach when the camera panned over topless women with elongated sagging breasts. It wasn’t the esthetics of it—I was too young to […]

EcoSalon’s Made In America Box features items that are made right here in the U.S.A! July is an all-around patriotic month here in the states, so join your fellow eco-friendly patriots with a box of products worth $494.85, for just $129 + free shipping! You see it everywhere: The […]

Science says men who clean the house have less sex. Here’s why science can suck it. Back in the day—okay, 2013—a study came out that said men who do more chores around the house have less sex than husbands who don’t clean the house as much. (Can I meet the […]

There are a lot of loaded words falling out of people’s mouths these days. Many of these words are gendered and their traditional definitions are awful. Since society is changing… slowly… very slowly… I think it’s time to put a positive spin on these words. I mean, they obviously aren’t […]